Sexual conflict
in New Zealand seaweed flies (Coelopidae).

Dhobasheni Newman*1, Greg Holwell1

1 University of Auckland

Sexual
conflict occurs due to the differing reproductive interests of males and
females and there has been a surge of interest in how this can influence the
evolution of mating systems. Previous studies on a small number of species of
seaweed flies (Coelopidae) from the northern hemisphere have revealed that
mating interactions in this family involve premating struggles whereby the
female physically resists copulation attempts by males. Australasia has
recently been identified as the centre of diversity for members of the family
Coelopidae. However, very little work has been done to investigate mating
behaviour and sexual conflict in the seaweed flies in this region. There are 7
species of Coelopidae found in New Zealand and its Subantarctic islands, 5 of
which are endemic and their behaviour is yet to be studied. Previous
comparative work, looking at northern hemisphere species, has identified that
females of different species exhibit different strategies to resist males
resulting in selection for males with traits to overcome resistance, usually
resulting in selection for large male body size. Here I present preliminary
results on mating behaviour and sexual conflict in the New Zealand Coelopid Chaetocoelopa littoralis and compare these
with the behaviours observed in other members of Coelopidae.